No. 148Folk & Fairy

Kitsune

狐（きつね）

The wise, shape-shifting fox of Japanese folklore and messenger of Inari

Kitsune is the ordinary Japanese word for "fox," and in folklore it names a fox grown wise with age. Storytellers say it can take human shape, kindle foxfire in the dark, and grow more powerful as the years pass. Some kitsune are tricksters. Others, the zenko or "good foxes," serve Inari, the kami of rice and prosperity, as holy messengers.

Farming communities read foxes as omens: foxfires were counted to forecast the rice harvest, and a sunshower is called "the fox's wedding." Inari shrines, estimated at 30,000 or more, keep paired fox statues at their entrances. Worshippers offer rice, sake and fried tofu, and often tie a red bib on the statues out of respect. At Oji in Tokyo, people in fox masks carry lanterns on New Year's Eve.

Shop KitsuneSee the gallery
Kitsune

How to recognise Kitsune

  1. Fox formLook for a four-legged fox with pointed ears, a narrow muzzle, a slim body and bushy tails; in tales the same being may pass as a person, but a tail tip or a fox-shaped shadow gives it away.
  2. TailsThe number of tails shows age and power, from one for a young fox to nine (kyūbi no kitsune) for the greatest, and old tales most often mention one, five, seven or nine.
  3. CoatFur is golden-russet, or pure white for the byakko ("white fox"), the white messenger foxes of Inari, said to be white because they are close to the gods and invisible.
  4. Star ballThe hoshi no tama is a small round white jewel or pearl, carried in the mouth or on the tail, and variously said to hold the fox's power or soul.
  5. FoxfireKitsunebi are small pale flames around the mouth or tail tips, appearing on dark nights in tales and drawn as a line of small flames in Hiroshige's 1857 print of foxes gathering near Oji.
  6. Shrine pairAt Inari shrines the foxes stand as a stone pair, usually one male and one female, often wearing a red bib (yodarekake) as a sign of respect.
  7. Held objectsShrine foxes commonly hold a sacred jewel, a key, a scroll or a rice sheaf in the mouth; at Fushimi Inari the left fox holds a key and the right a jewel.

Names and titles

  • Messenger of InariZenko, the good foxes, are seen as holy messengers of the rice kami Inari
  • The Nine-Tailed FoxKyūbi no kitsune: a fox with nine tails marks the greatest age and power
  • Keeper of the Star BallThe hoshi no tama, the white jewel the fox carries and keeps
  • Fox Wedding in the SunshowerSun and rain together are called kitsune no yomeiri, the fox's wedding
  • Foxfires at the Changing TreeThe Oji legend: foxes gather on New Year's Eve with foxfires, as in Hiroshige's print

Feast days

  • Hatsuuma8 February 2027
  • Inari Festival (Shinkōsai)18 April 2027 (date to be confirmed)
  • Oji Fox Parade (Kitsune no Gyōretsu)31 December, every year

Kitsune in the shop

See all 10 Kitsune designs

Sources

  1. Britannica: Kitsune
  2. Wikipedia: Kitsune
  3. Yokai.jp: Inari
  4. Wikipedia: Inari shrine
  5. Wikipedia: Myōbu
  6. Gekkeikan: Fushimi Inari
  7. Buffalo Architecture and History: Fushimi Inari, Kyoto
  8. Metropolitan Museum of Art: collection object 55553
  9. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin: object 14034
  10. Brooklyn Museum: collection object 121730
  11. Wikipedia: Kitsune no yomeiri
  12. Wikipedia: Kuzunoha
  13. Wikipedia: Kitsunetsuki
  14. J-STAGE: journal article (1960)
  15. Visiting Japan: Oji Inari Kitsune Parade
  16. Japanistry: Oji Fox Parade
  17. Voyapon: Oji Kitsune New Year, Tokyo
  18. Shinto Inari: What is Hatsuuma
  19. Ichiban Japan: Hatsuuma
  20. Iwafu: event listing 1056401
  21. Japanese Rituals: Kitsune
  22. SymbolSage: Kitsune, Fox of Japanese Mythology
  23. Biker Ring Shop: Nine-Tails Kitsune Symbolism
  24. Tsunagu Japan: Inari Fox
  25. Wikipedia: Inari Ōkami
  26. Bokksu: Japan's Most Stunning Inari Shrines
  27. Stories Preschool: Kitsune
  28. JREF: Sunshowers, Spirits and Foxfire, Japan's Kitsune Weddings
  29. Mai-ko: Fushimi Inari Shrine and its 10,000 Gates

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